Deadly Burundi clashes after president seeks third term

At least two people have been shot dead in violence clashes in Burundi, a day after President Pierre Nkurunziza controversially launched his bid for a third term in office – a decision critics said is unconstitutional and could rekindle turmoil after a decade of calm.

Thousands defied a ban on demonstrations and took the streets of the Burundian capital, Bujumbara. Witnesses said police used water cannon and tear gas and in some cases live bullets to scatter demonstrators.

At least one police officer and a protester were injured in the disturbances. Police had no immediate comment.

Burundi's ruling CNDD-FDD party nominated Nkurunziza as its presidential candidate on Saturday, prompting hundreds of civil society groups to condemn the move as a "coup" against the constitution, which limits leaders to two terms in office.

Opponents also warned that the nomination threatens a peace deal that ended the country's 12-year civil war in 2005, which killed more than 300,000 people. Burundi's constitution says the president is elected for a five-year term that can be renewed only once. Nkurunziza's supporters say his first term should not count because he was chosen by parliament rather than by a popular vote.

Dozens of protesters gathered in each of four Bujumbura suburbs and set off to reach the city center for a march, but riot police blocked their path. In one neighborhood, protesters burnt tyres on the road and threw stones at police, who shot in the air and used water cannons to rout the crowd.

Witnesses said violence had spread to a second neighborhood where one protester was wounded by gunfire from police, while a police officer was injured by a thrown rock.

Police also threatened to shut down a private radio station unless it stopped live broadcasts about the protests. The station was then allowed to continue broadcasting but told not to carry live footage of the protests on fear that it was inciting revolts.

At his nomination by a special party congress, President Nkurunziza said: “I call people to go to the election in peace.”

“But I would like to warn everyone: Whoever wants to create problems with the ruling party elected by the people, he'll find himself in trouble,” he added, Reuters reported.